The Beach of Dreams Silks, Aldeburgh Beach © James Crisp
Beach of Dreams
A UK-wide coastal arts festival exploring the unique heritage, cultures, and futures of our coastlines.
Beach of Dreams was a UK-wide coastal arts festival celebrating the rich heritage, cultures, and futures of our coastlines in the face of the climate emergency. Presented by Kinetika in collaboration with national partners, and supported by Arts Council England and Historic England, the festival connected communities across Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland through a dynamic outdoor and digital programme.
Spanning 1 May – 1 June and September 2025, Beach of Dreams offered a space to reflect, create, and dream: a chance to consider what our coastlines mean today – and imagine what they could become tomorrow. Thousands of participants engaged with creative walks, new artist commissions, local events, writing climate commitments, and more, helping to shape a UK-wide shared journey.
At its heart, Beach of Dreams invited audiences to journey along the UK’s coastlines, explore its layered histories and vibrant cultures, confront environmental realities and dream collectively for its future.
The Creative Programme
Curated by Artistic Director Ali Pretty, the Beach of Dreams programme united commissioned artists, regional partners, and local communities across the UK to create eight new commissions across eight regions – the Thames Estuary, Colwyn Bay in Wales, South Tyneside, the Ards Peninsula in Northern Ireland, Great Yarmouth, Dungeness, Fife in Scotland, and Weymouth.
During 2024, leading up to two key festival periods in May–June and September 2025, community groups were invited to walk, reflect, and create, engaging deeply with the beauty, stories, and environmental realities of their coastal landscapes.
From the villages of the Ards Peninsula in Northern Ireland to the oyster reefs of South Tyneside, the commissions engaged 175 community groups and 2,355 active participants through 1,019 creative sessions. The resulting works spanned soundscapes, dance, sculpture, and textiles – a vibrant mix of disciplines that reflected the diversity of local experience and artistic expression.
At the heart of the programme was The Beach of Dreams Silks – hundreds of naturally dyed pennants, each carrying a dream for a coastal place. Together, they formed a collective expression of hope, memory and possibility, interwoven with the regional commissions throughout the festival.
Images from the Beach of Dreams 2025 creative programme across the UK.
The History of Beach of Dreams
Beach of Dreams began in July 2021 with a 500-mile walk from Lowestoft to Tilbury, led by Artistic Director Ali Pretty and Kinetika. The journey invited participants to reflect on their connection to the coastline and imagine its future. Participants created 500 hand-painted silk pennants, each telling a story of the present and future, which were displayed along the walk and shared online.
In 2023, Kinetika, in collaboration with Rosa Productions and Morecambe Bay Partnership, expanded the project to Morecambe Bay, adding 120 new pennants and digital stories. The programme has since grown nationwide, uniting communities and inspiring hope for a sustainable future.
The Beach of Dreams Silks: The National Commission
Where does colour come from? The Beach of Dreams Silks, sat at the heart of the programme, exploring our connections with our coastlines and the significance of colour in the natural world.
A national artwork by Kinetika, The Beach of Dreams Silks iswas a dynamic, travelling installation composed of hundreds of naturally dyed pennants – each representing a personal story that reflected our relationship with the coast and sea. This evolving tapestry wove together a rich narrative of hope and inspiration for our shared future. Visitors could encounter the installation as it journeyed along the coastline, connecting communities and celebrating the diverse voices of those who contributed. To date, over 850 pennants have been created, each one a fragment of a collective artwork that revealed the profound emotional connections people hold with their coastal environments.
The Beach of Dreams Silks, alongside the commission the Power of Nature, South Tyneside © Tessa Bunney